I won’t pretend be an expert in the world of professional wrestling – I’m just a guy who has watched it for the better part of my 33 years on this planet. I happen to be able to identify exactly what I like and express exactly why I like it. That’s why I’ve always gravitated towards the #content side of it – I’m just better at it. Plus, my busted ass knees never would’ve held up inside the wrestling ring. I enjoy sponsoring shows and putting the SoBros machine behind the indie wrestling scene in the Southeast – getting interviews, writing about shows, doing some of the kayfabe articles/podcasts….that’s my sweet spot, and ultimately, that’s probably how I can best contribute to the betterment of the industry. Few things make me as proud as Googling a wrestler’s name and seeing SoBros Network pop up, or catching up with guys at shows and hearing, “man, that podcast really helped me out…” – stuff like that. So, I figured I’d try something new here on the SoBros Patreon, and offer a glimpse into my mind when I’m taking in the graps. It’s Big Natural’s Wrasslin’ Analysis! Today, we’ll be watching B-Boy vs. Benjamin Carter from ACTION Wrestling’s ‘$2500 vs. Hair,’ now available on IndependentWrestling.TV.
I won’t deny that I’ve had plenty of catching up to do on independent wrestling over the last several months. I reached out to Mose when this whole quarantine started and asked for some show recs to get me up to speed. The first show he mentioned was ACTION’s ‘$2500 vs. Hair,’ and he specifically mentioned this showdown between B-Boy and Carter. A month later, I finally got around to watching it. Boy, was it spectacular.
I think one of the first things you can do if you’re looking to book a special type of match is to pay attention to the position of each wrestler you’re interested in heading into the match. You see a lot of indies out there just putting guys together because their styles are similar, or it’s two big names on the scene, etc.. But, putting two talents together who are positioned well….or, let’s say they’re positioned interestingly…immediately creates stakes. And, to be fair, it’s a challenge to create long-running stories on the indies because promotions don’t have a set, guaranteed roster month to month. Shit happens, too – cars break down, people get injured, double bookings, the whole nine.
But, if you’re paying attention, when you have the right circumstances, you can create something special. ACTION Wrestling achieved that with this match – they had a guy in Carter who was positioned to, in my opinion, be THE breakout star of 2020 in indie wrestling. They booked a man who is considered one of the greatest indie wrestlers of all time – a veritable legend in B-Boy. It’s an instant story, and all you have to do to set it up is have Carter call out B-Boy as soon as he finds out B-Boy is coming to ACTION.
By that alone, you’ve caught my attention and captured my interest. I’m all in before the bell has even rung. We all knew Carter was eventually going to break out, but having this match with B-Boy would serve as a measuring stick of sorts. This was the perfect time to put on such a match – so kudos to ACTION Wrestling for the awareness and ability to strike while the iron was hot.
But, that’s only half the battle – you’ve built a solid foundation to promote, and you’ve sold me on this match. Now, it’s up to everyone involved to deliver.
And, I do mean everyone. Your ref has to be on it. Your commentary has to be on it (which, by the way, let’s give Dylan Hales a quick shout out for consistently being the best commentator in the region – he did a masterful job in this match). These are key ingredients, and ACTION has ’em. Now, everyone is absolutely killing it – the ref, commentary, the crowd’s into it. You’re cookin’ at this point.
The bell rings, and it’s time for the wrestlers to take over.
I always love a good feeling-out process when the situation calls for it. It’s smart – Carter and B-Boy aren’t familiar with each other. This is a HUGE match for Carter. It makes all the sense in the world for both guys to take some time to let things simmer, work the crowd a bit and let them anticipate the pace quickening, feel each other out from a competitor’s standpoint – see if your opponent is giving you any clues to his game plan. That sort of thing. This sort of thing always makes a big match feel even bigger to me. Plus, it gave Dylan time to drive home the ‘legend vs. upstart’ narrative on commentary, and sell the veteran savvy of B-Boy and the excitement of Carter’s offense.
B-Boy going for so many submissions was a nice curveball – there’s a cliché in wrestling that you keep high-flyers grounded. I loved how B-Boy spiced that old cliché up a bit by putting Carter in submissions that weren’t necessarily designed just to work a limb (for a high flyer, taking out his legs, for instance). Instead, they were designed to make it hard for Carter to breathe, and made it so that Carter had to exert an exorbitant amount of energy to get out of it (a la the Cobra Clutch and that modified Tequila Sunrise).
Dylan dropping ‘B-Boy knows how to go long‘ on commentary was key here – maybe B-Boy wasn’t necessarily trying to keep Carter grounded as much as he was trying to push Carter’s conditioning to get a sense of how long he would hold up. Think about it – if you know a guy’s going to go long, that might give effect your strategy moving forward. I found this to be a fascinating bit of wrestling strategy worth mentioning here. Clearly, I don’t know how these guys intended for this match to come across, but that was something I took away from it as a viewer.
B-Boy also sold his veteran presence by not getting overly emotional when Carter kept kicking out of pinfalls, but gave Carter a bit of shine by slowly showing a little more surprise with each kick-out. He baited Carter into a few high-risk maneuvers only to counter them. And yet, the upstart kept fighting – B-Boy started to look a little despondent as the match went on, as if he didn’t quite know what would keep Carter down.
They sold Carter’s offense well by getting him back into the match and evening the playing field to a certain degree just by connecting with a couple of high-risk moves. The count-outs came into play with several occasions when both guys were down and it appeared as though we were heading toward a stalemate. It was as if the longer the match went, the less it favored either guy.
Then, in a brilliant twist, Carter catches B-Boy with an unexpected Victory Roll for the win. You had the young upstart known for his offense upsetting the legend with a veteran, defensive maneuver. *chef’s kiss*
I don’t know who’s largely responsible for booking this match, but they deserve a ton of credit for presenting the classic ‘veteran vs. breakout star’ story in a new and refreshing way. It’s a prime example of why B-Boy is the legend that he is and why Carter has the wrestling world rumbling about his breakout potential.
If you want to see me break down a particular match, hit up the DMs or the inbox.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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